GPs taking on out of hours work face higher indemnity fees

General practitioners working out of hours are being hit by huge increases in their indemnity fees because of the “significant number” of claims brought against doctors working outside surgery hours.

Medical defence bodies said that the increases in fees were necessary because of the soaring cost of GP claims, with some of the most expensive involving out of hours doctors.

The BMA has started talks with the government on how to tackle the issue, amid concerns that the increases are dissuading general practitioners from working out of hours shifts.

Latest figures from the NHS litigation authority1 show that the total number of clinical claims in the NHS rose by 10.8% in 2012-13, with the NHS’s estimated total liabilities for clinical negligence claims standing …